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Building Clubs: Difficult?

lildudejds

Shut up ya dumb beaver...
Supporting Member
Aug 2, 2005
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I'd really like to get in to building my own clubs. I think it's a decent way to save some money if you have the ability to build your own. Is it possible to learn off the internet or do you really need to be schooled either from a class or from another club maker?

Obviously there is a lot more that goes into it than just epoxying the shaft and sticking it in the head, but how difficult is building your own irons and wedges?
 

LyleG

gear head
Aug 10, 2006
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Extremely, only splitting an atom and figuring out what your wife is really thinking is more difficult.

Seriously, is simple. With some patience, fore thought, and the right tools anyone can do it.
 

BigJim13

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Moderator
Aug 13, 2006
11,840
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I'd really like to get in to building my own clubs. I think it's a decent way to save some money if you have the ability to build your own. Is it possible to learn off the internet or do you really need to be schooled either from a class or from another club maker?

Obviously there is a lot more that goes into it than just epoxying the shaft and sticking it in the head, but how difficult is building your own irons and wedges?

It's amazingly simple to build your own clubs, provided your not doing exotic clubs or clubs that are harder to pull the shafts from- Composite heads etc-stuff you really need the right equipment for.

If you are just looking to build a set of irons and wedges with steel shafts it really is as simple as trimming the shafts to play the right flex and then epoxying them together and slapping a grip on. I learned from the Golfsmith Tutorials and when i was ready to move on to more difficult stuff I posted a few questions here to this forum, there are some really great people here that know what they are talking about.
 

LyleG

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Aug 10, 2006
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I guess it really depends on how precise you want to get as well. Cut and glue is simple. To build a set of irons where every head weighs 7g when done, every shaft is frequency tuned to a specific slope, spine aligned, every grip weighs the same, every club swing weights to within 1/2 a point, and the lofts and lies are dead on is a lot more difficult. It also requires a lot more equipment. When I build a totally blueprinted set it can take 8 hours start to finish and require a lot of sorting with shafts and grips to get everything where I want it. Where as I can cut and glue a set in about 30 minutes start to finish.
 

BigJim13

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Moderator
Aug 13, 2006
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I guess it really depends on how precise you want to get as well. Cut and glue is simple. To build a set of irons where every head weighs 7g when done, every shaft is frequency tuned to a specific slope, spine aligned, every grip weighs the same, every club swing weights to within 1/2 a point, and the lofts and lies are dead on is a lot more difficult. It also requires a lot more equipment. When I build a totally blueprinted set it can take 8 hours start to finish and require a lot of sorting with shafts and grips to get everything where I want it. Where as I can cut and glue a set in about 30 minutes start to finish.

Yeah, thats what I was trying to get at but you did a much better job saying it Lyle.
 
OP
lildudejds

lildudejds

Shut up ya dumb beaver...
Supporting Member
Aug 2, 2005
661
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  • Thread Starter
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  • #6
I guess it really depends on how precise you want to get as well. Cut and glue is simple. To build a set of irons where every head weighs 7g when done, every shaft is frequency tuned to a specific slope, spine aligned, every grip weighs the same, every club swing weights to within 1/2 a point, and the lofts and lies are dead on is a lot more difficult. It also requires a lot more equipment. When I build a totally blueprinted set it can take 8 hours start to finish and require a lot of sorting with shafts and grips to get everything where I want it. Where as I can cut and glue a set in about 30 minutes start to finish.

That's the kind of stuff I was looking for. See if I just throw some together myself, I'm always going to have it in the back of my mind that they aren't playing as well as they could if they were built by somebody who did all that stuff.
 

MGP

Clubmaking Ho
Supporting Member
Apr 21, 2007
1,996
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That's the kind of stuff I was looking for. See if I just throw some together myself, I'm always going to have it in the back of my mind that they aren't playing as well as they could if they were built by somebody who did all that stuff.

Well, here's how I look at that...

That's exactly how OEM clubs are assembled. They have a box of 5000 heads, 5000 shafts, 5000 grips, ferrules, etc. They put them together. They inspect them. They package them and ship them.

Some manufacturers have tighter component tolerances than others. Some have better inspection and testing than others. In the end you get what you get and you are never really sure what that is. The OEMs are in a volume business and they push the stuff out the door.

When you build your own clubs you at least know exactly what the component specs are, how they were assembled and you get to do some easy customizations along the way (grips, shafts, ferrules, etc.). As you do more clubs, get more experience and acquire better tools you end up doing even more customization.

I like building my own clubs but also play several OEM clubs too. It's nice being able to do things like regrip and reshaft myself as I can look for good prices on components and save a lot in labor. Plus I can do it now if I need to.

Start out with something easy like irons, wedges or a putter. You'll figure out pretty quickly if you are any good at it or if you are really interested in diving in further. There are some very good clubmakers on the site who can give plenty of good advice based on experience.
 

dave.

Well-Known Member
Mar 20, 2005
5,926
2
If I can do it anyone can


The is a chance you can get OCD several times over

has the cork been pushed right down the bottom

have you cleaned the last atom out of the ferrule

is the shaft cut perfectly square

is the grip straight

is the ferrule ground neatly

you may need psychological help building your first set of clubs, the first iron will take about 30 man hours, just checking 100 times that the ram rod really is down the bottom. And thats without worrying whether the ram rod has punctured the cork and the powder can come out
 

ajp76054

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May 18, 2009
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You can learn anything of the net. However I would recommend that you take a class down at your local golfsmith.com they are cheap to take and you can get help and learn tricks and techniques that will save you headaches later. You will find that there is a lot of people who make their own clubs that taught them selves and they dont know some of the good techniques.

www.noadvertisinglinkswithoutpermissions!.com
 

Rockford35

Shark skin shoes
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Aug 30, 2004
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You can learn anything of the net. However I would recommend that you take a class down at your local golfsmith.com they are cheap to take and you can get help and learn tricks and techniques that will save you headaches later. You will find that there is a lot of people who make their own clubs that taught them selves and they dont know some of the good techniques.

Enough is enough.

R35
 
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lildudejds

lildudejds

Shut up ya dumb beaver...
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Aug 2, 2005
661
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I'm near st louis, nearest golfsmith is in Chicago. Not gonna happen. I'm gonna go for it, I can get the supplies at golf galaxy.
 

Augster

Rules Nerd
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
1,473
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Well, here's how I look at that...

That's exactly how OEM clubs are assembled. They have a box of 5000 heads, 5000 shafts, 5000 grips, ferrules, etc. They put them together. They inspect them. They package them and ship them.

BINGO!

You really can do no worse building your own compared to off the rack clubs. I mean, you "can" if you don't mix the epoxy right or something, but if you do it correctly (it's not rocket science) the club you build will be no worse than an off the rack OEM built to standard everything.

To get started, just tip trim to the manufacturers recommendations. This will get you close enough to a playable club once you figure out if you want an R flex or S flex shaft etc. Using Golfsmith's RSSR guidelines for shafts makes ballparking what shaft to use, and what to cut it to, pretty easy.

Go for it I say.
 

RickinMA

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Feb 3, 2007
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The is a chance you can get OCD several times over

Great point - I played the same OEM clubs forever until I started building my own stuff. clubmaking as become as much of a hobby as golf, and I find myself buying crap I don't "need" just to try - it's a slippery slope

that said, I enjoy it, so go for it
 

LeftyHoges

I've got the pants that'll make you dance!
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Jun 11, 2007
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Very easy, just started myself 6 months ago. You will need a lot of supplies to get started though.
Make a list of everything you need to do the basic job...

Epoxy
Grip solution
Grip tape (or compressor)

Then if you want to pull shafts from your own clubs:
Heat Gun / Torch
Vice
Puller (for graphite shafts, I've ruined one and shortened another shaft because I don't have a puller, lucky they were cheap). This will be my next purchase.

Build clubs from scratch to your specs:
Chop saw / Dremel
Shedload of sandpaper or Bench sander
48'' ruler
Spine finder (optional but worth it)

Advanced:
Cork
Ramrod
Tip weights
Powder
Backweights

Super advanced:
Loft and lie gauges
Loft and lie benders
Frequency analyzer

Super easy, but depends on how deep you want to go. All fairly self-explanatory, start with some very cheap wedges and putters so it doesn't matter squat if you ruin them.

Good luck!
 

mddubya

Hybrid convert
Nov 6, 2007
6,029
2
You've gotten plenty of great advice already. And a list of what you'll need to get started. I've built numerous clubs, and only had to take the walk of shame once with one of my own clubs. I've also taken the same walk with OEM clubs, so I'm no worse than Cleveland 's track record the way I see it, :laugh:
 

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